Deeper Than Skin An Original Teen Titans Chapter
by kale4eva
Summary: A memorable story of how two men, Ryan and Devin, search for something new in their lives. They need something more. Something deeper than skin.Includes Teen Titans characters, however, in an alternate universe. A must-read! a five-star romance story
1. Author

**Author's comments:**

Hey! Thanks for viewing my stories! I've spent a lot of time on all of them. It's a ton of fun to write, but also a lot of work. I ask that if you decide to review (which I REALLY APPRECIATE!) I ask that you please respect what I've done. :D Please! There's many chapters to all of them, but they're not that long. Just in case you're one of those readers who's looking for something cool and short, the chapters don't go on and on and on and on. I try to keep things descriptive but easy to follow, and yet right to the point.

A few other things, if you are a fan of Teen Titans, I highly recommend you reading this. I'll have more stories out (all Teen Titans) but what I hope you'll appreciate is that I've changed some personalities and added characters. Get really involved in the world I live in, and I can promise you an awesome time!! Any questions? Talk to me on my forum! I'll get back to you!

One last thing is that – just so you are aware – I tend to have some language in my stories. I, personally, do not use these words, but they're part of the character's personalities. I'd take it out, but it would ruin the point of the situation. You'll notice that almost all of the swearing comes from a single character (Fira), and that's just part of who she is.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!

Please Review on the stories!! It encourages me…sometimes I need that. We all do!

Enjoy!

Kale4Eva


	2. Chapter 1

**DEEPER THAN SKIN**

**A chapter story**

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**Comments: **

This story was written for someone I know and love very much who has gone through something very similar to these two men. This story is about two fathers who both have hard-working lives, dangerous jobs and two kids to care for….but where is the two kids' mothers, you ask? Ryan and Devin both have wives, but their wives couldn't really care less about them. The only thing they want is money. Join others as they read this inspiring tale of two men who find something in two women…..something deeper than skin.

**WARNING: Mild language(a.k.a. no 'F' word) **

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**CHAPTER 1: Just a Wish**

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Five o'clock in the morning. The sun had just begun to appear over the tops of the buildings on the horizon of Jump City, but some citizens of the community were already getting up and heading to work - or had even been up for a while. The light was dim outside, cars zoomed quietly along the street, buildings and stores began to open up here and there for the day, and the air was still chilly after the night's reign on the earth.

A typical early day...and one that Ryan Roth had already seen many times.

Five o'clock in the morning, already it was time to leave the house. It was still an hour later than when he used to leave, but now he always left an hour later, because he was not the only one that had to go. It had been that way for a while. He placed the last of the night before's papers in his brief case, adjusted his dark jacket, and checked the time.

Five o' five. He had a seven o'clock meeting, and rounds in the weaponry stations before that. He would have to leave very soon. Ai, why hadn't he stopped in and checked to see if she was awake--?

Small, hurried footsteps on the staircase interrupted his thoughts. And sure enough, only a second later, two small figures came running in through the doorway, all dressed, small backpacks packed with necessities for the day. As usual, they had gotten themselves up early, and completely prepared themselves so as not to put any more work on their father's shoulders. It was an adaptation that was sadly necessary for them - due to the absence of their mother's care.

Ah, Jade. She wasn't gone. She wasn't even truly absent. She lived in the house with them, but she simply took no interest in their home life or in lives of their children in the least bit. She slept in late, went to her job when she wanted to, or just went shopping all day if it suited her. The children had learned to fend for themselves far more than any little one should have to, and Ryan knew they hurt without the proper love of a mother in their lives. An old friend of his, Devin Rorek, was experiencing the same thing in this damn world...two children and no mother to speak of. That problem coupled with work made mornings like this seem trivial - even though they accented the grief of the situation.

Four-year-old Rain and two-year-old Donovan came in through the door, Rain clutching her brother's small hand while he innocently sucked on his thumb with the other. They knew what time they had to leave, and when they had to be at daycare, and they knew it was very bad whenever Daddy was late for work.

With a small knowing smile and a shake of his head, Ryan simply approached his two beautiful offspring, before kneeling down to give them both a good-morning hug. He was eagerly accepted as little Rain and Donovan quickly took the opportunity and ran into their Daddy's open arms.

Clutching them tightly, Ryan tenderly whispered good-morning in their young ears, before hoisting them up in his strong, gentle arms. Chuckling lightly at their yelps of laughter, he spun them playfully around the room once, before stopping to grab both of their lunch bags (which had been previously filled the night before) and his brief case. Using any free limb, he somehow made it out the door, turned off the light, and closed the door behind him.

He carried his two struggling children down their walkway and onto their driveway. He heaved them both onto the roof of his not-so-new Jaguar 106, where both Rain and Donovan slowed their laughing and began to actually breathe.

Ryan chuckled to himself again as he swung open the rear door, revealing two neatly set car-seats. One at a time, he hauled his kids off the roof and into their car-seats, buckling them  
in easily--quite used to doing this himself. Once both of them were all set, he shut the door and got in the driver's seat. He placed their lunches and his brief case in the passenger seat next to him, before turning to start up the car.

The way to Daycare was as it always was. Ryan would make sure Rain and Donovan knew what to do, made sure that they remembered their manners, reminded Rain to watch over Donovan, told them both to tell him if ANYTHING went wrong when he came back, told them both to eat ALL of their lunch, and the such.

Finally, the large, familiar building would come in sight. Ryan would park by the curb, get out, help the kids get out of their car seats, hand them their lunches, hug and kiss them goodbye, then hop right back in and head off to barely make it in time for work. Leaving Rain and Donovan to simply take each others' hands, after watching Daddy disappear, and head on in to their awaiting caretakers for the day.

Ryan sighed as his watched both his darling children head off inside the giant building from his rear-view mirror. Oh, how he wished they didn't have to do that. He would do anything to have them have a mother's care. Not only that, but he had minimal time with them as well, making him feel all the more guilty.

Taking the steering wheel with his left hand, the dark-haired father pulled out his cellphone with his right, before flicking it open and speed-dialing the one person he found a close friend nowadays. Devin Rorek.

He placed the phone to his ear and patiently waited for the other dark-haired father to pick up his cell.

It didn't take long.

There was a brief clicking sound. "_...yeah...hold on...okay. Hey, Ryan! Wassup? Got the kids to Daycare already?_" The good-humored voice greeted him.

"Yes, in fact." Ryan replied, smiling slightly with a roll of his dark eyes, "You?"

"_Same here. Those little freaks will be terrorizing Mrs. Ziller for the entire day and I couldn't be happier._" Devin chortled. "_You heading right to work then? I'll probably see you in the office if you're going right away._"

"I'm going right away." Ryan replied with a sigh, "I'll see you there, then?"

_"You bet._" Devin replied with a smile. "_I'll see you there, bud._" And with that, the phone hung up with a single click.

Ryan chuckled lightly in humor of his best friend's attitude before slapping his fold-up cell closed and swiftly slipping it back into the front pocket of his black-leather brief case.

This man was very different from most. With a very deep understanding of the world, sin, and life, his entire existence was dampened with the dark tint of reality. Well, _almost_ his entire existence. As hard as he tried, Ryan Roth could not find fault in his two most beloved children--the only happiness and meaning he had in his life.

This was the time in the morning where he thought about anything and everything. His wife, kids, job, friends, house, money, investments, cars...and wishes. Oh, were there things he wished for. Things he prayed for every night before he slept. Things he thought about in his spare time. Things he would give up everything for. One of them? Well, it's simple, really. Something he lost a long time ago.

Love.

A woman's love.

A wife's care for him and his children.

A spouse's support.

A partner's companionship.

A female's touch to everything.

Just a wish.

With a shake of his dark head, Ryan burst back into real life and parked his vehicle in the back parking lot of a humongous building. Clicking off his seatbelt, he turned the car completely off before jumping out and slamming the tar-black car door shut. He walked around the hood to the passenger side before opening the door, grabbing his brief case, and slamming that one as shut as the first.

The tall, darkly-clothed man lifted a hand to tip his sunglasses from above his forehead to over his eyes, while he strode around the side of the intimidatingly tall structure before him to the front. He soon made it to where there were now two steel doors (which would be intimidating to any average person) with which he simply whipped out his keys and easily opened the door one-handedly, and swiftly entered.

He walked quickly and confidently down each hallway before the elevators, with which he firmly pressed the "up" button with his large thumb. Waiting, he glanced up and down both corridors on either side of him and down the one he had just walked up, waiving or nodding in greeting at any familiar faces, and ignoring the new ones.

The two metal doors finally opened to reveal an empty, red-carpeted elevator patiently awaiting his entrance. He walked in, pressed the 13th floor and watched as the doors shut right before his eyes.

Thankfully, this elevator was one of the faster ones, therefore his destination was not waited on for too long, and he easily strode out of the two now opening doors. The dark-eyed father now made his way down three or four more corridors, the ones on this floor were much more occupied at this hour in the morning than the lower ones. Ha. New-bes.

He now more warm-heartedly greeted his co-workers, bosses and friends as he made his way to his office. As he now more closely advanced on his office, another familiar face. There, as she was every morning, was his awaiting personal secretary.

"Good morning, Mrs. Pumkynne." Ryan greeted with a polite nod as he approached the door- handle to the tall, steel office door professionally labeled _RYAN ROTH_. "How are you this morning?"

"Fine, fine, Mr. Roth, sir." Replied the tall, hazel-eyed woman as she clung to her neatly laid, PACKED wooden clipboard. "How's the family?"

"Just fine, thank you." The young man responded respectfully as he finally turned the unlocked handle so as to reveal his giant, not-so-organized office. "Anything new lately?" He asked as he walked in, threw his keys down on the large fine-wood desk, and sat down in his comfortably large black-leather chair. "Any new news since last night that I need to know about?"

"No, sir." The reddish-orange-haired secretary answered dutifully. "But there are some more files that the boss would like you to look through. Also, I believe you'll find six or seven complaints in your email that you never made it to that workers'-night-out last weekend, and there is another notice about that over-night mission this weekend."

"Anything else?" Ryan questioned, seemingly unphased by the extreme list of duties and announcements, before he glanced up a second later from his notepad, now filled with these current notifications.

Glancing through her clip board only once more, the high-heeled secretary looked up and smiled. "No, sir. A light one today, eh?"

"That it would seem..." The dark-eyed Assassin agreed with a sigh as he turned toward his high-tech computer. "Thank you, Mrs. Pumkynne. You may leave. I'll call you if I need you."

"As always, Mr. Roth." She responded with a chuckle, before making her way out the door, and back into the corridor, where her high-heels were heard click-clacking throughout the building.

And it was then that the government-worker began his work day...but somehow he still cognated the fact that Devin would be showing up any minute now.

And he couldn't have been more right. For he had barely settled in for more than a minute, when his door was suddenly banged right open - this time to reveal a smiling, dark-haired man who looked a bit out of breath - but nonetheless glad to be there.

"Ha! Now THAT is a RECORD!" He declared triumphantly, swaggering in through the doorway and plopping himself down on a chair in front of Ryan's piled desk. He soluted the other man with a half-hearted flop of his arm. "Got the kids to Daycare, the car to the shop and MYSELF in this CHAIR in less than twenty-five minutes. How amazing is THAT?!"

"Astonishing." Ryan didn't even look up from his computer. "You get slower every day." He briefly shot a teasing glance in his friend's direction before continuing to log-in.

"Oooh, nice one, big guy." Devin pretended to cower back, wiggling his fingers in Ryan's direction. "You really impress me with that astounding wit of yours. Do you tutor on that subject, by any chance?"

"Yes, Devin." The other man responded in his typical sarcastically sincere tone, "In fact, I tutor a young man who looks just like you every day...but somehow I am seeming to fail to succeed."

Devin laughed, sitting back in the chair and clapping his hands. "AHA, good one, buddy!" He exclaimed, before letting out a long sigh and rubbing his eye. "So...uh...what's on the docket for today? Anything special?"

"No," Ryan responded with a sigh as he leaned back in his comfy leather chair, not taking his eyes off his computer, "Not besides dealing with another three thousand dollar shopping bill..." He brought his one elbow onto the arm of his chair before closing his eyes and softly rubbing his stressed brow. He gently shook his head, "...oh, Jade..."

A slight frown smoothed over Devin's forehead. "She's still doing that, huh?" He didn't need an answer. He sat back as well, pursing his lips. "I'm guessing she's not watching the kids after Daycare today, either. Hey...hold on!" He suddenly brightened a bit, leaning forward. "Why don't we take the kids to the library today? You know, after your meeting. They've got that story time, and I know they've been dying to go."

The other man scrunched his eyebrows and moved his hand quietly from his brow to covering his mouth in thought, but for only a second before he chuckled to himself and shifted his dark eyes to meet Devin's. "Why not...?" He sat up straight and placed his hands on the keyboard, "...who knows? It might be fun."

"Sweet!" Devin pumped his fist, getting to his feet afterward and giving the other man a dramatic bow. "I'll see you at lunch hour then, oh great one. We'll make more dastardly plans then!"

"As always." Ryan nodded to his friend with a chuckle. "Don't catch on fire. I don't want to have to take care of your kids for you. I have two of my own already."

"Oh, you poor baby." Devin made a face at him, before grinning one of his characteristic grins again and moving to duck out the door. "Don't work too hard. You'll burst into flame and you _know_ I'm allergic to ash." He wiggled his fingers at him. "10-4."

And with that, he stepped out of the room, and closed the door behind him firmly, as though to make that his concluding statement.

"Hm. Kids..." Ryan teased, before turning to face his computer once again. He had a long day ahead of himself, and being fully prepared as always, he began his work for the day.

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	3. Chapter 2

**DEEPER THAN SKIN**

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**CHAPTER 2: The "Reading Chick"**

_**Continuing from chapter 1….**_

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At the end of the day, Ryan shook the hand of the last general who had contracted his service, and then gathered his things from the office and hurried out of the building to head to the Daycare, as he always did. Devin had already said he would meet him there to pick up the kids, and then they would head to the library straight from there.

The half-hour commute between the giant FBI building and the _Flinstone's Daycare Facility_  
was, once again, a time to think for this particular Ryan Roth. The entire way there, he barely made a sound. The ONLY time he spoke while in his car on the way, would be if someone called him on his cell...or maybe if there was some stupid reckless driver on the road. THEN he might talk a little bit...

But nevertheless, the quiet father soon pulled up in front of the semi-large Daycare, twisted the key with his left hand, unbuckled himself with his right, and then opened the door with his left again. He slipped out from the slick black car before resoundingly slamming the door shut. Following him turning to head on in, there was the infamous "blip blip" of the car responding to his super-lock system button. Oh, how he loved that thing.

The tall, dark-haired agent was soon looking through sunglass-covered eyes into the face of his children's caretaker. He had a brief conversation, handed over a hand-written check for the 350 dollars for those past two weeks, and nodded politely when she turned to summon his offspring.

"Rain and Donovan Roth!" The boss called sweetly from over the top of the half-sized door that lead into the realm of wild, happy playing kids. And sure enough, the two little well-behaved kids came up to the door, Rain's bag neatly packed and ready to go on her shoulder, and little Donovan obediently clinging to her hand, looking around the room.

With a nod to the boss and a chuckle at the sight of his flawless jewels for kids, Ryan walked over (pushing his way gently passed the woman) before opening the small doorway and kneeling down to his kids' height. From there he smiled and opened his arms wide and embraced his now excited children who had run ever so happily into his welcoming arms.

"How was your day?" Ryan asked softly enough for both of his lovely miniatures to hear, but for only their ears.

"We missed you today, Daddy..." Rain responded quietly, snuggling up to her mega-father as tightly as she could.

"Yeah?" He asked, kissing her jet-black hair tenderly, "Well, I missed you two very much today." Ryan pulled back to look at both his children right in their pure, innocent faces. "In fact, I missed you two so much today, that your uncle Devin and I are going to take you both and the Rorek kids to the library today for a special surprise. Now how does that sound?"

All he needed (and wanted) for a response was what he got: the two dark-haired young ones' eyes went wide with excitement, and they looked at each other before both looking like they were going to burst from too much anticipation and excitement all in one breath. They both soon laughed and squealed happily and hugged their daddy tightly once again--making Ryan's day complete.

As he was holding his two beautiful kids, Ryan's covered dark eyes flickered around the room for several things. Literally. Either little D.J. Rorek, little _Diva_ Rorek, or good ol' Uncle Devin.

And sure enough. It took less than .5 seconds before an excited shout came from the other end of the room.

"Daddy!! Diva! Look!! It's the Roth dudes!!" DJ Rorek shouted excitedly, practically jumping out of his slightly oversized shoes and having to push his large cap back over his head after jumping up and down. He took Diva's hand happily. "We're goin' to the lib'ry with em', right Daddy?"

"You bet!" Devin came out grinning from behind the reception desk after paying his dues for the month as well, and ruffled the hair of both of his excited kids before pointing over to Ryan. "Wanna go give Uncle Ryan a big, FAT hug?" He grinned evilly.

"YEAH!!" The two kids squealed excitedly before taking off toward the embracing happy family of Roths only a few yards away.

"Oh, no..." Ryan muttered to himself, fully seeing the full-speed oncoming traffic from a mile away. The two young children were indeed coming his way, just as he had expected--not to mention that Devin wasn't exactly _quiet..._

The agent hoisted both Rain and Donovan into his arms and began to "make a run for it." Pretending, of course, to escape the two mini attackers...but to no avail. With a couple laughs and determined squeals of laughter from both little Diva and D.J., Ryan was officially tackled. He playfully let himself fall--both his kids still laughing in his arms, he began tickling and wrestling all four of the reckless offspring. Whether his or not, it was hard to tell. Well, maybe not that hard. Two were dark-haired and well behaved, and two were dark-haired and completely wild. But when all four were playing around, it was hard to tell.

And as for Devin, he couldn't have been laughing harder. It wasn't an unusual sight to see this kind of interaction between the families - and it got more amusing every time. However, the Daycare closed seconds later, and before long they were all walking out of the building, the kids now a bit winded but still very excited, and the two fathers smiling to themselves.

"Awe we gonna get 'dew'r fast, Daddy?" Donovan asked excitedly, clinging happily to his father's hand. "Are we gonna heaw a stowy?"

Ryan smiled, and glanced down at his son before shifting his eyes to the door handle of his transportation vehicle. He opened it and hoisted his son by his tiny sides into his already prepared car-seat in the back. "Yes, Donovan." he replied as he began buckling his tiny figure in. "And I'm sure you'll love it."

Rain, in the meantime, was already buckled and smiling in her own booster seat on the opposite end of the leather-seated car. "Really, daddy?" She asked, looking hopeful for an exciting change in entertainment. "Who will tell us 'da story?"

"Some old ladies with reading glasses, I'm sure." her dark-haired father replied with a wink and a smile before he leaned back out of the car and slammed the back door shut. With that, he overlooked the hood of his black Jaguar and waived a hand over to where Devin was now currently finishing his kids' buckling as well...yeah, with as independent kids as he had, making sure they were at least SOMEWHAT safe, was always a hassle.

With a chuckle and a shake of his head, he called over to his friend, "By the time you're done, Devin, I'll be _inside_ the dastardly luminous building already!"

"Shut up, Roth!" Devin called back, pretending to be at the peak of frustration as he finally gave up figuring out the seatbelts in his car and simply left his kids tangled in the restraints before getting into the driver's seat and revving up the engine. "I'LL lead the way, Captain Frigid!" He called out, before suddenly HITTING the gas and plunging off down the road, both Rorek kids squealing excitedly in the back seat.

Ryan quirked an eyebrow after Devin, before jumping in his car with a slight rush of adrenalin from the challenge. He got buckled with a single gesture before revving up his vehicle with the turn of a key, and slamming the gas and taking off in the opposite direction of his friend. HE was going to take _the short cut._

However, neither a speeding Devin or a sneaky Ryan made it there first. Both automobiles and their passengers arrived bumper-to-bumper in front of the Cedar Lake Public Library--at the same time.

Ryan cursed under his breath as he twisted the key to disengage the engine. As soon as the engine's vibration had deceased, the gloved man clicked his buckle off his chest and, one leg at a time, exited his seat. He leaned against the roof of his car, the door still open, and removed his sunglasses as his gaze met his defeated friend. "Even as you speed, Devin, you _still_ cannot beat me."

"That's because you can _teleport_, smart ass." Devin shouted back at him as he exited his own car, as if this were the most obvious thing on the face of the earth. He went to the side of his car, opening the door to get the squealing little Roreks out. "Don't go doing a victory dance on me!"

"Devin, you know as well as I do that _you_ are the _only_ one I know who performs that embarrassing celebration." Ryan replied quite simply, easily lifting his patient children out of their seats and onto the sidewalk as he spoke.

"Whatever. Now remember kids, this is a _quiet place_." Devin instructed his children, dramatically putting a finger to his lips to emphasize. "Sadly, if you're _not_ quiet, they'll kinda' kick your asses right out. Your uncle Ryan learned that from _experience._" He flashed a wicked smile in Ryan's direction. "But once you know that. We can go inside. So let's go!"

The Rorek kids didn't need to be told twice. Only half-heeding the warning, they ran ahead right through the welcoming glass doors of the library, squealing happily at the sight of the exciting place that they rarely got to go. Devin gave Ryan an innocent shrug before jogging in after them, knowing he'd have to catch them before they started trying to play cop-and-bandit between the bookshelves.

Ryan just shook his head. HIS kids knew full-well not to be loud in a library...in ANY place that wasn't home for that matter! But with a reminding finger gestured against his lips for only a second, he took his kids' hands and lead them both inside.

Excited, but obediently quiet, both Roth children's eyes went HUGE at the sight of all the books, shelves, people and computers. They loved this place!! Both kids took FULL advantage of this rare opportunity and began to desperately pull on their father's large hands to follow the now running away Rorek kids.

Well, as they found out, they really weren't running away, they were just following their daddy who had been running playfully out of sight behind maybe a bookshelf or two. Devin always knew how to make anything a game for his oblivious-to-the-world offspring.

"Devin!" Ryan called from his spot stand-still position, both Rain and Donovan still trying their hardest to pull him in opposing directions. "Stop playing around. Now let's _find_ this...well, this...whatever storyteller person...room...whatever! We're probably already late."

"You boring old geezer." Devin poked his head out from behind one of the bookshelves, then quickly dodging when his kids gave victorious squeals and jumped at him. "Fine. We'll find the _storyteller person...room._" He mimicked him, picking up both little Roreks under his arms and looking around the library grandly. "Should we scream for her?"

"No, you don't have to." A voice from the bookshelf behind him cut in, and Devin turned just time to see a young woman emerge with an armful of books, and would have appeared like any other library browser except for the fact that she wore nicer clothing - marking an obvious status as a librarian - and also had unusually pale skin, almost ashen, with long violet hair and eyes to match. She smiled pleasantly at him even despite the way he was currently holding the wriggling children. "Are you here for story time, then?"

"Uh...yeah." Devin frowned slightly, looking over her features slowly. "You're the...um... story-reader or something?"

"Yes I am." The librarian responded, and then smiled in amusement at Diva and DJ, who had stopped their fighting now to look and see who their father was talking to. "And I suppose you two are more than ready for it?"

"Yeah!" DJ shouted in celebration, at last wrenching himself from his father's grasp and tugging Diva down too. "We wanna hear a story! _We wanna hear a story!_"

"Uh, yeah. They're psyched." Devin grinned, shrugging casually as the librarian chuckled softly, then he looked over his shoulder and called over to Ryan, who was still being nearly-abducted by his children. "Yo, Ryan, I found the reading chick!"

Ryan, who was now crouching down and trying his best to stay in one piece as both his little kids were tugging and pulling back and forth. At their daddy's name however, Rain and Donovan stopped to see who was currently summoning their father.

At the same time, Ryan heard the call also. Taking only a minute, the dark-haired man looked over his hunched shoulder with covered eyes...and froze. Whoa. She was hot...and sweet-looking...and maybe even--nope! No more time to think for poor Ryan, for as both his miniatures finally realized that this was their storyteller, they ran right at her--not letting go of their dad.

Ryan's feet swept gracefully out from under him in his crouched position, therefore having him fall hard down on his back, and was quickly dragged mercilessly along the floor to where Devin, his kids, and this new librarian were standing. How embarrassing. He could fight body-guards, save the president from a gun-shot, go and assassinate the world's second Sadam Houssain--but he couldn't get away from his two very young companions dragging him on the floor.

Happily, Rain let go of her daddy's hand, and quickly nodding for little Donovan to do the same. Following her commands, Little D let go as well, and Ryan more than happily took both his hands back. He used them for support as he slowly but surely sat up on his elbows. With the quick of the moment, Ryan brought both his knees up near his face, thrust them powerfully out in front of him, and set them firmly on the ground. With that, the covered-eyed father was now standing and straightening out his good-quality, long-sleeved white work-shirt as if nothing had happened...

...however, with Diva and D.J. now rolling on the ground with uncontrollable laughter, and undoubted snickers from Devin (no matter how hard he tried to hold it in), Ryan concluded that that probably was the _last_ thing that should have happened at that moment...no matter HOW much everything had a reason.

Embarrassed and irritated now, Ryan flickered his dark-eyes upward to meet the eyes of the lovely new librarian, who apparently found it amusing as well. However, Ryan did take note of this, and decided to take a whole new approach--hey! If _she_ liked it, then he guessed he would live.

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	4. Chapter 3

**DEEPER THAN SKIN**

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**CHAPTER 3: Meeting Fira**

_**Continuing from chapter 2…**_

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Seemingly trying very hard not to laugh openly at the spectacle, the librarian soon moved forward to helpfully usher the children toward a nearby area where there was a child's dream-land of toys and books, pointing them in the direction, and watching with a smile as they quickly darted off with happy squeals to go vent some of their excitement out in a more suitable place.

Straightening up, she looked at Ryan, seemingly still trying to conceal a smile. "Are you all right, sir?" She asked, not noticing Devin now doubling over in an attempt not to start guffawing out loud.

The agent simply looked from Devin to the kind woman, changing his expressions as he did. Devin's was more of a disdainful "how on EARTH am I your friend?!" kind of look, and to the librarian with more of a "He irritates me" kind of look.

"In case anyone asks," Ryan murmured near the young woman's ear, "_I don't know him._"

With a chuckle he pulled back, placing two mature hands on his black leather belt tightly tied around his fit waist, as he began to look around the facility under shaded eyes. "This is a nice library." he commented with a brief exhalation of breath, his eyes still shifting from person to bookshelf to computer to bookshelf to person. "Fairly large."

"Indeed it is." The librarian agreed, pushing her glasses more securely into her hair and smiling warmly at the handsome agent. "I hope you enjoy your visit, sir. Story time ends in about an hour, and I'll be sure your children get back to you." She looked back at Devin, who was currently turning in circles, staring up at the ceiling. "I assume you'll be waiting as well, sir?"

"Yep, you got it..." Devin replied, grinning lazily as he continued to turn around, his head bent back. "Just haul em' on out when you're done."

"Mm hm." The librarian gave Ryan an understanding glance as she turned around, and then shifted the books in her arms and began to walk toward the children's section. "See you both in a while, then."

"_Byyyyeee..._" Devin snickered, wiggling his fingers at her, though she clearly didn't notice and soon disappeared into the other small room. After she was gone, the Caucasian man whirled around, looking at Ryan with wide eyes. "_There._ See?! I TOLD you librarians are child abductors!!"

Ryan wasn't paying attention. Currently, as most males would be, his mind was focused on who he had been previously talking to, and eyes were focused on the door where that beautiful young woman had just disappeared...

Devin blinked, then frowned. He stepped carefully toward Ryan, stretching out a hand to wave in front of his face. "_Hellloooooo...?_"

The Caucasian boy's hand was immediately swiped out of view from Ryan's dark eyes with a large, ashen hand. "Stop it." He demanded darkly, without question assuming that he thought he had been staring at her...uh..._womanliness...?_ Especially after he had spent the past half-second convincing himself he hadn't been! The nerve of some people!

Devin raised an eyebrow slowly, staring at his best friend in disbelief. "No _way._" He looked with an open mouth toward the children's section, and then back at the assassin. "_Ryan Roth,_ tell me you were NOT just giving little Miss Bookworm _dreamy eyes..._"

THWACK!!

The other man immediately cuffed his friend hard over his dark head with a single swipe of his large hand. After watching Devin's reaction to the blow and being satisfied with the result of pain, he glared down sinisterly at him. "As long as I am around, you are going to treat that woman...and any other woman for that matter...with RESPECT, Devin Rorek."

His deep, dark voice lowered even further than his previous tone as he leaned down towards his miniature (compared to his wrath) friend, before whispering slowly, _"Or. Else."_

Devin's eyes were purely wide now. "Uh...Ryan...I think you officially have _issues_ at this point..." He slunk out from beneath Ryan's shadow, his hands up in the air. "...maybe I should just _back away..._"

But as he was doing just that - he backed up right into the brown-haired, pony-tailed public security agent that just happened to be right behind him.

_CRASH!!_

With one quick "SPLAT!" the two sudden "acquaintances" fell hard down onto the carpeted floor beneath them--one on top of the other.

"GET THE HELL OFF!!" The dark-eyed policewoman shouted angrily from her trapped place under Devin. Her chocolate hair swished briefly onto her face as she jumped to her feet within seconds...and the next thing Devin knew, he had a perfectly polished (to the very last knick) F312 Pistol aimed directly between his dark eyes. "Yeah, that's right, ya frickin' shit-ass bastard. WRONG DAY to make the WRONG MOVE...ass-hole...now get OFF your ASS!"

Devin froze, looking completely shocked at first - before abruptly scrambling to his feet and backing away slowly from the enraged female officer. "Whoa, whoa...okay...okay...just take it easy..." He said cautiously...but suddenly his speech slowed, and he blinked a few times.

"Uh..." He began again, staring at her now a bit differently. She was...well...really...pretty...and..._cool_... "...hi..."

"Oh, GOD!!" The other girl shouted sarcastically, flinging her hands up in the air carelessly before shoving her shiny weapon back into her holster. "He says 'HI'!" She shook her brown head, placing her hands on her hips. After a second of silence, her dark eyes shifted from the floor to his (HOT) face again, "You're new here. New as _hell_, I take it. No one who's been here over three times would NEVER say 'hi' to ME! NO...they all run for their frickin' shit-ass LIVES. Ha...well, then, you frickin' ass-hole, I guess you'll have to meet Raven--the bitch of this whole place...yo, RAVEN!!"

"Raven?" Ryan commented under his breath from the side, for a second wondering if that was the name of that adorable, young librarian that had been in his reach only a couple moments ago...oh, whoops! Maybe I should phrase that differently...she was _there_ only a couple moments ago...

Ryan had been standing there, watching the whole charade with Devin and this gun-girl, without a slight _suggestion_ of a thought to help or defend his guilty friend. It was...amusing...

When a book came flying out from the storyteller's room right at the agent's head, this chocolate-headed girl caught it inches from her face...she stared for only a second, before throwing it angrily at the ground at her boots. "YEAH, WELL, GOD DAMN YOU TOO, YA BITCH!!" She bellowed right back at the door from which it had flown. "GOD!!"

Ignoring all the shouts from various anti-swear adults amongst the millions of books, magazines, CDs and many computers, she turned back to the two gentlemen with a very goaded face, before crossing her arms. She cleared her throat. "That means no...Raven style."

Devin chuckled slightly, brushing himself off as he steadied himself on his feet and...still staring at the girl. Wow, she had a temper. And a very foul mouth. And...God...she looked really hot in that uniform...

_Oops..._

He immediately stopped that thought, instead clearing his throat. "Uh...yeah...well...I see you guys know each other..." He glanced sideways at Ryan before straightening himself up again. "Sorry for, you know...uh...crashing into you and...er, saying hi. I really didn't mean to offend you in any way." He rubbed the back of his neck. "And yeah, I am kinda' new here...I...uh, don't recall seeing you around anywhere else." He commented, as though this were a very sorry thing in his life at the moment.

The other girl blinked...aw, wasn't he adorable...

GEAAH! NO! With a shake of her brown head she quickly blocked that HORRENDOUS thought out of her mind, before looking back at Devin with a slight glare. "Yeah, well, that means you haven't got yourself into a whole bunch of shit then. If ya had, you would've seen me...THAT'S for sure." She began to off-handedly play with her pistol as she glanced around the facility again. "Looks like everything's pretty good around here...all except for you two shit-asses."

"And your name?" Ryan cut in darkly from the side, his big, strong arms crossed firmly.

The other agent's eyes immediately locked on the covered eyes of her addresser. "And why the HELL would you give a shit about that?"

"Well," He shrugged lightly, before responding simply, "I just want to make sure I know the name of the person I crush in case you ever decide to swear like that in front of either of my children."

Her brown, right eyebrow lifted.

"Well?"

"How about you call me..." her gloved hand grasped the butt of her weapon as she flung it in front of her sharply. Loaded and ready, the gun was now in perfect aim of the other man's brow. "..._η σκύλα που δολοφόνησε το γάιδάρο σας_."

"...I see." Ryan, completely unphased by the obvious threat, reached into his back pocket and whipped out a black leather fold-up. It gently flipped open in front of the gun, revealing his authority. "Put the gun down, Ms. _'the bitch who murdered my big ass...'_"

"Oh, GOD!" The leather-clothed agent responded sarcastically, immediately flinging her hands up in the air. After a second of absolutely exaggerated fear, she finally looked at him realistically and began to put away her gun. "I'm scared as shit, really."

Ryan rolled his eyes.

Devin, the entire time, had his eyes on Fira, his eyes turning to slight awe as he watched how she handled her gun...and how completely unintimidated she was by Ryan. THAT was unusual. And she wasn't grovelling at his feet either...

Oh yeah. This girl was one of a kind.

He straightened his shirt, smiling slowly as he looked at Ryan. "Hey, bud. Come on. Put the gun away and go find a book on your ancient-relic-rune-reading shit. I'll smooth things over with...our new acquaintance." He smiled over at Fira, blinking a bit slowly. "I think she's sick of you anyway."

Ryan's brow scrunched in confusion as his gaze was sharply shifted from the other agent to his best friend. "What?" He straightened up, putting anything he had removed from his pockets back. However, after a second of silence, it took only but another split second for Ryan's shocked face to go to _complete_ understanding. "Oh, I see how it is...well, then. Devin, while you continue to cheat, I'll go and check on our _kids."_

And leaving with that as his last "reminder", the tall man nodded to the chocolate-haired girl once more in farewell, before turning head into the door from whence the flying hard-cover children's book had come flying. He turned back and smiled only once teasingly at Devin, before disappearing inside.

Devin cast a half-hearted glare in Ryan's direction, knowing _exactly_ what the agent had been thinking - but he didn't care. After all...he had never seen this girl before. What harm could there be in saying hello? And maybe...um...talking for a bit...?

Surely nothing. Especially since Silva didn't give a shit about what he did anyway, just as long as he was home at night to...

He cleared his throat, smiling with as much charm as he could muster at the pretty agent. "So...uh...how long have you been working here?" He asked, trying to be conversational despite how nervous he was.

The boot-wearing female quirked an eyebrow at the young man, "Long enough to think shit of this goddamn place..." She turned her brown head towards the door through which both Ryan and 'Raven' had disappeared. "...same with good ol' Raven." She looked back, hands on her belted hips, with a serious look, "I'm gonna beat the absolute SHIT out of anyone who tries to mess up her life any further though...so if your big-ass dude...person...friend guy decides to pull ANYTHING on her..." Her very presence seemed to grow with the adrenalin exerted through her voice, her size seemingly growing with every angry word. She pounded a closed fist against her chest suddenly and sharply, "...he'll have to get past MY ASS FIRST." She shrunk. "'k?"

Devin blinked, his eyes wide. "Uh...yeah, okay." He glanced to the side, then looked back at her. "So, you guys are...friends?"

She smiled. "Hell, yeah!" She froze. "...actually...she hates my ass."

Devin laughed, somehow quite charmed by the big mouth of the easy-going officer. "Yeah, that's kinda' the relationship I have with him." He motioned to the direction that Ryan had gone. "He totally hates my ass...but he couldn't live without me." He grinned cheekily...then suddenly looked a bit nervous, and cleared his throat. "Hey...uh...when do you...get off work...?"

"You don't even know my goddamn NAME, shit-ass." The agent replied, looking back at Devin with sharp eyes. "And HELL knows I don't know the name a' your ass either."

Devin blinked, then went red. "Oh, yeah." He grinned sheepishly. "Uh...yeah. My ass' name is actually _Devin_. Devin Rorek." He held out a hand. "And you are...?"

With a snicker in amusement and a smile in return, the other girl reached out and clapped Devin's hand firmly, "What's up, D?" Within a second later, however, she yanked him quickly up to her and pounded his back in a common, rough-tough guy-hug. She pulled stepped back with a crooked smile. "I'm Fira Noland."

'_Fira Noland_," Devin thought the name over in his head...really liking the sound of it. He suddenly blinked, though, realizing that the way she had just hugged him was...well, let's say unlike any other way he'd been hugged by a female. Wow...she really WAS one of a kind! '_And...she called me...D...SWEET!!_'

"Nice to meet you," He finally said, trying hard not to start staring at her again. "So...uh... now that I know your name, do you...um..." He scratched his head, praying he didn't look like an idiot. "...do you like chocolate...?"

Silence.

Fira blinked. "What was that?"

"Uh..." Devin blinked, shrugging slightly. "Do you...like chocolate?"

"Is that a question or are you just bein' an ass, D?" Fira threw her hands in an emphasizing gesture in the air with one big proclamation. "HELL YEAH, I like goddamn chocolate!!" She put her gloved hands down and on her hips once more, "...why? You got some?"

"Nooo..." Devin answered slowly, looking _casually_ to the side before looking back at her with a smile. "...but...I know where to _get_ some..."

The other girl's dark eyes immediately seemed to lighten about ten shades at the sound of this. "Really?! Where the hell?"

"This really awesome place by the market downtown." Devin replied eagerly, already getting ahead of himself. "They have the BEST chocolate sundaes there. Seriously. They have this one sundae called _Death by Chocolate_, and it's, like, every chocoholics dream."

The agent's eyes seemed to grow with every delicious word her friend said so blatantly. "Oh, my GOD!! When does it FREAKING close?! Do you know?! If you don't I'm gonna BEAT YOUR ASS!"

Devin blinked, but he chuckled in amusement afterward, shrugging. "Well, it closes at nine tonight. So...uh..." He took a step forward, trying to seem casual. "...maybe after the kids are done here...d'you think maybe you'd wanna...I dunno...go...make a stop there...?"

Fira had no idea, but he was discreetly crossing his fingers behind his back.

"YE--" Fira abruptly cut herself off, immediately catching whatever rash decision she was just about to make. "...wait..." She crossed her leather-covered arms, tilting her chin down in skepticism as she examined her new friend _very carefully..._ "...what _exactly_ are you playing at here, bastard? Is this a...date, by any frickin' chance?" She stared deep into his dark eyes. "...or just a friend-friend-hang-out-like thing?"

"Oh, _totally_ friend-friend-hang-out-like thing!" Devin said quickly, raising his hands in defense...just playing it safe. "Just...thought maybe...see, I'm a big chocolate fan too, and you don't meet any _true_ chocolate fans very often...so...I just thought we might have a good time." He offered a hopeful smile. "...right...?"

She immediately relaxed. "Oh, HELL yeah!" Fira shook her dark head, "I totally know what you're talkin' about 'no true chocolate frickin' fans' around here...BELIEVE me." She smiled. "Yeah, I'll go."

Devin, for a moment, looked like the world had just become a million shades brighter - but then quickly contained himself, clearing his throat yet again and shrugging casually. "Cool." He said, smiling a crooked smile. "So...uh...when do you get off work?"

"I dunno..." the brunette looked up at the ceiling in forced remembrance, as if to find the answer up there, before looking back down to Devin, "...I think today I get off at 4:32. En punto--as Marco would say." She chuckled. "How 'bout you? You work?"

"Oh, yeah. Totally." Devin chuckled, folding his arms confidently. "_I_ am a firefighter. With a fixed schedule of course." He motioned with his thumb toward the children's area. "Gotta take care of the kids."

Fira froze. She blinked. A second later she lifted a leather knuckle-gloved hand up to gesture at the other boy, before asking in awe, "...you're a firefighter?" Her dark eyes suddenly looked fearfully intrigued, "Oh, my god...it doesn't scare you at all--" She suddenly caught herself as if someone had whacked her clear over the head, "WAIT." Her eyes, now suspicious, flickered darkly up at him, "_Kids??_" She stepped back, looking at him with a disgusted shock, "You're _married_ and your asking me out somewhere? Holy shi--" The brunette froze again, turning to look suddenly at the door Ryan had entered, "You know I bet your FRICKIN' FRIEND IS TOO!! AND HE'S PROBABLY HITTIN' ON RAVEN!! OH MY GOD!!" She whipped out her gun and took off toward the children's room...where all the little kids were listening to a cute, kid-catching story.

"Ah! No! Wait!! _Fira!!_" Devin tore after her immediately, desperate to catch her before the gun-happy girl did something outlandish. "_Just give me a chance to explain...!!_"

In less than half a second the gun-wielding agent stopped in her very fast tracks, only to turn around and click her gun into ready mode against her approacher's head. "I'LL GIVE YOU CHANCE TO EXPLAIN, YA BASTARD!! THIRTY GODDAMN SECONDS BEFORE I HAVE YOU BOTH FRICKIN' ARRESTED!!"

"Wh-what would you arrest us for?!" Devin spluttered, immediately putting his hands up. "I-I just asked you if you wanted to go get ice cream!! I never said it was a...a _frickin' DATE!!_"

Fira's dark, incredibly dangerous eyes began to slowly release her adrenalin. "Good." She turned around and started heading toward the door again. "But I'm gonna make sure it's the SAME WAY with your goody-goody-two-shoes friend..."

"Okay, okay, just be careful around him..." Devin said rapidly, jogging to catch up with her. "He's, uh, pretty trigger-happy too. He'll shootcha'."

"Pfft." Fira scoffed, pushing her way through the doorway, "_Like to see'im try..._"

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	5. Chapter 4

**DEEPER THAN SKIN**

* * *

**CHAPTER 4: Cool Guns **

_**Continuing from chapter 3…**_

* * *

Ryan's brow scrunched in confusion as his gaze was sharply shifted from the other agent to his best friend. "What?" He straightened up, putting anything he had removed from his pockets back. However, after a second of silence, it took only but another split second for Ryan's shocked face to go to complete understanding. "Oh, I see how it is...well, then. Devin, while you continue to cheat, I'll go and check on our kids."

And leaving with that as his last "reminder", the tall man nodded to the chocolate-haired girl once more in farewell, before turning head into the door from whence the flying hard-cover children's book had come flying. He turned back and smiled only once teasingly at Devin, before disappearing inside.

Once inside, the room was, indeed, PACKED with eager little children listening happily to the voice of a young, animated--it was that Raven girl! YES!! He was right...she was the one reading the story. Wheph--

Wait.

Why the heck did he care? Pfft. He didn't give a cra--whoa...

...boy, did he like when she bent over to emphasise a certain word or two in the story...and oh, boy, did he like that shirt--NO!

Once again, the young, perverted, dark-haired father caught his own train of distorted thought before it went too far...

He tried his best not to make to grand of an entrance at this point, for he was sure she had glanced up at him at already...or was that just his wishing imagination? Probably, he guessed. His shaded eyes glanced around the large room for somewhere to sit--only one chair. Sadly, however, that specific chair was currently taken by the only eye-catcher in the room.

Oh, well. He never really minded sitting amongst children. So, in the back of the room, so as to not disturb a single soul, Ryan took a seat on the carpet behind the giant cluster of intently concentrating kids...and waited.

He listened to the story--or at least, that's what he would _say_  
he did. He had his eyes focused almost in fascination at the center of attention among the peoples in the room.

"...she turned off the light and went right to sleep. And guess what...?" The violet-haired librarian looked up with an expectant smile at the children in front of her.

"No bad dreams!" The excited kids immediately chimed, as little kids will do.

"That's _right._" Raven closed the book, beaming at the little ones in front of her. "Now all of you remember that the next time you have bad dreams. Wasn't that a good story?"

Several variations of excited answers from the kids were her response. Ryan spotted his own two children in the mix, little Donovan looking very exicted as he sat in Rain's little lap. Following that, Raven stood up and began to guide the children to the door where their expecting parents were waiting, making sure they all got their safely - but as they filed out, her eyes flickered over.

_Right_ to Ryan. And when she saw him, a small smile came to her face...but it was almost a smile that suggested that she had known he had been there all along.

"Hello, Mr. Roth." She said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him, and laughed lightly when Rain and Donovan immediately perked up at the name. "Did you enjoy the story?"

"Daddy!" Donovan cried happily, standing up and toddling over to his father with an excited giggle. "Daddy, we goa' a stowy!"

Ryan's eyes flickered up immediately at the shock of his oh-so-secret name popping out of the mouth that he had previously been tuning out of a moment before. He jumped to his feet swiftly, immediately straightening his appearance. "Miss Raven," He bowed lightly in greeting.

However, at the sound of his name being called a second time, this time by a much smaller source, Ryan's standing position soon collapsed into a kneeling, open-armed position of welcome to his youngest. "Hey, Little D..." Ryan chuckled as he embraced little Donovan happily in his large arms, soon after opening them again to welcome his oldest. "How did you two like the story?"

"Good, Daddy!" Donovan chirped, clinging happily to his father's neck. "Goo' stowy!"

Rain simply laughed at her younger brother's comment, before nodding in silent approval to her dad. "It was great, Daddy."

"As it seems," Ryan chuckled and squeezed the heads of his two beloved children, before standing up confidently and pressing their tiny heads to the sides of his pants. He smiled once more at them before raising his eyes to Raven, then back down. "And what did you think of your storyteller?"

Rain immediately perked up and smiled brightly over at Raven, her head still pressed affectionately against her father's leg, "She was great, Daddy! She could pronounce big words like _excellent_! She was really good!"

Ryan's smiled genuinely up at Raven in utmost approval.

Raven chuckled again, smiling a fond smile at the children and then at their father. "Well, if I may say your children are some of the _very_ best listeners I've ever had during story time." She picked up a small stack of children's books from her seat. "It's so nice to see them when they come. Be sure to bring them next Wednesday if you can. That's the day we read _fairy tales._"

"Dwagon!" Donovan immediately exclaimed, bouncing happily with his sippie cup in hand and clinging to Void's other leg. He seemed very enthusiastic about the idea. "Dwagon, Daddy!"

Ryan smiled and rubbed his son's head, not, however, taking his eyes of little Miss Raven. "Yes, you like the dragons, don't you Donovan?"

"Uh-huh!" The little boy chirped, still clinging happily to his father's leg. "Dwagon stowies, Daddy!"

"Well, I'll be sure that the story we pick out for next week has dragons in it." Raven promised the little tyke, smiling as she shifted the books in her arm and took a few steps closer to the family, flicking her eyes up to Ryan again - this time, looking him in the eye. And he could have sworn the slightest hint of a blush appeared on her face. "Will you be stopping by next week, Mr. Roth?"

No reply.

Currently, Ryan was concentrated not on her speech, but on her gorgeous dark-violet eyes; a small sparkle in his deep, dark eyes...as if he had seen her for the first time.

And it seemed as though Raven, for a moment, didn't notice that he hadn't replied. Her eyes were fixed right back on his, blinking a little more slowly than normal as she looked into the fathomless haven of those beautiful black orbs...seeming utterly lost for the moment as though time, for some reason, no longer existed.

Little Donovan looked between the two adults curiously. Then looked over at Rain. "Es quiet, Rain." He commented, slurping from his sippie cup afterward.

Rain was watching the whole thing...but with a bit more interest. Her little brow was scrunched in irritated confusion while she looked between the two acquaintances. "I know, Donovan..." She hugged her father's leg tighter, "I dunno why 'do..."

Another few seconds passed. And then, suddenly, a piece of reality seemed to gradually drift to the two adults in the room - snapping into the reverie unexpectedly - and Raven blinked.

"Oh, um. Excuse me." She cleared her throat, looking away - but was unable to keep her gaze away for long...as it soon guilty came back to lock on Ryan's again. "I...uh...I was just thinking...um..." She gave a slightly nervous chuckle, shrugging as her face began to turn pink. "...I...uh...actually don't know what I was thinking..."

Donovan slurped on his sippie cup again.

"What?" Ryan asked, frowing lightly and shrugging briefly in question, "...what's wrong?"

Of course he hadn't noticed anything, for he was just as guilty in crime as her. He did notice one thing, however--the slightly pinker pigment appearing on Raven's paler cheeks. It made him chuckle.

And Rain, the romantic toddler that she was, decided to take things into her own little hands. With a mutter of "Pfft..._parents...'_, the youngest Roth stepped behind her father and shoved with all her little might--successfully causing the tall man to step forward a step or two unsuspectingly.

Ryan's dark head whipped around behind and below himself, briskly whispering, "Rain!" before turning back forward--only to now find himself about a foot away from his newest acquaintance.

"Oh..." His deep voice trailed off, leaving himself standing speechless before her.

Raven didn't fare much better. If her face had been pink before, it was downright _red_ now, as, when you're standing in front of someone like Ryan, when you're a foot away from him...well, let's just say the distance seems much smaller than that. Somehow she managed a nervous chuckle...though it made her scared that she would blush more. "Little bit of mischief in that girl of yours, I can see..."

"Yay!" Donovan suddenly gave a cheer of his own. Very happy, he bounced up beside Rain, jumping up and down in front of the two adults. "Yay, Daddy! Ha'rwt, Daddy! Ha'rwt!"

Ryan, now turning a slight shade of light crimson as well, cleared his throat and tried not to act like an idiot. "Hm...yeah..._Rain..."_ He briefly glanced back at his eldest, before turning and smiling at Raven once again. "Anyway. My apologies for their..._behavior._" He chuckled, placing his hands casually atop his belt, relaxing his shoulders to begin a more...clears throat. Well...let's just call it a CONVERSATION.

"How late do you work tonight, Miss Raven?"

At this, a distinct sparkle appeared in Raven's eyes again, and she pursed her lips, as if trying to keep from smiling. But surely that wouldn't be proper. She quickly regained a smuch of her composure as she could. "...I...well, I'm off at six." She said, absently shifting the books in her arms again, suddenly feeling a bit too shy to look the handsome agent in the eye. "...why do you ask...?"

"Well...actually...I--"

Ryan was viciously cut off from his statement by the exit door SLAMMING open, only then to reveal the opening of a 3021 Pistol aiming right at his own forehead. However, Fira, who had entered ever-so rudely, also had a gun...a much more advanced one, however, held to her brow as well--yeah, Ryan's reaction instincts were _very_ violent.

"GET THE FRICKIN' _HELL_ AWAY FROM RAVEN, YA SLIMY BASTARD!!" Fira shouted fiercely, her stance steady, her eyes concentrated.

"No." Ryan replied calmly, his eyes securely locked on hers. "Now put the gun down."

"NOT UNTIL YOU MOVE _AWAY_ FROM YOUR VICTIM."

"Put it _down,_ Miss Noland. _Now."_

"No way in HELL, SHIT-ASS."

"_NOW._ Or I'll disarm you myself."

"Raven, get out a' here. NOW!"

"Fira!" Raven yelled, shocked and horrified that Fira had come in like that. Rain and Donovan began to cry in fear, offering their own little pleas to Fira to not hurt their daddy. "Fira, stop it!! Put the gun DOWN!!"

"Hey, hey, hey, come on!" Devin came in behind Fira, immediately looking pleading as he approached her. "Fira, you don't have to shoot him. He's harmless, really!" He smiled uneasily.

Fira looked disbelieving back at Devin, pointing defensively at Ryan's perfectly aimed gun with one hand, "Really?"

Devin blinked. "Uh...well..."

"Fira, I said STOP IT." Raven demanded, throwing her books to the side and walking up to the brunette - and suddenly put a hand by Fira's pocket. "You put the gun down or your Hersheys is DONE FOR."

Without a SECOND THOUGHT, Fira's hands whipped protectively over her pocket as she backed up away from her attacker, "BITCH! You touch my chocolate I BEAT YOUR ASS!!"

"Fine." Raven immediately stood in front of Void as soon as the gap was open, holding her hands out to Fira. "Then leave him alone. He hasn't done anything wrong!"

"Oh _RIGHT!"_ The other agent pointed furiously at the defendant, "And that's why you're protecting 'em, right? GOD, RAVEN!! He's got two frickin' KIDS, DUDE!!"

"I _KNOW_ that!" Raven yelled back at her. "I happen to SEE them every WEEK! He was just...being friendly." She finished, deflating slightly as she looked at her friend. "Just please put the gun down. Nothing was happening, I swear. Besides, you really don't need Bob coming in here and firing you again."

"Yeah, yeah, that old dude's fired me twelve times since last week." She huffed lightly and crossed her arms, "But 'e always rehires me!"

"But it was never for almost shooting someone, as strange as that may be." Raven glared at her, folding her arms. "You CAN'T afford it, Fira. Now leave him alone and go back to your post."

"Or you'll _what?"_ Fira challenged, putting her hands stubbornly on her hips and leaning forward slightly in emphasis. "Tell Bob? Then I'll tell 'em you're FLIRTING with a MARRIED MAN."

Ryan, in the meantime, was glaring blades at Devin, as if this was somehow his fault.

Devin gave Ryan a completely helpless look, shrugging and holding up his hands.

"I am NOT flirting!" Raven shouted back at Fira, and looked like she was about to shout more...but suddenly she picked up on the scared sounds that Rain and Donovan were making...and she let out a sigh, deflating and calming herself down. "Okay. Say what you want. But he didn't do anything wrong, so _leave him alone._"

With that, she turned around, picked up her books, and walked out of the room, snatching Fira by the arm and _dragging_ her out on the way, ignoring the brunettes protests with surprising determination.

Devin watched them go, his eyes wide. "B...but..." He watched Fira being dragged away, and looked at Void. "I...I was gonna..." He cleared his throat suddenly and looked away. "Never mind."

"Wise choice." Ryan said darkly, his arms crossed in disapproval. "I cannot believe you, Devin. Stay away from her." He shook his dark head and gestured toward the now open door, "And you probably got Raven in trouble with their boss now, on top of all that."

Sure enough.

"_Miss Noland! Miss Rothschile! In my office immediately!_"

Devin's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Oh...shit..." He looked at Void in panic. "We got them fired. _We. Got. Them. Fired._" He started pacing around mindlessly. "I am never going to forgive myself. The first time in my life I meet a decent girl and I give her the pink slip. I'm going to hell..."

Ryan stared hard at the open doorway, Devin pacing back and forth in front of him.

He stayed silent for a good moment.

He snapped his smooth fingers. "I have it." And with that, Ryan briskly made his way out of the story room and down the hall to where he had heard the office door close a second before. He came to the closed door and gently pressed his ear against it, as if to try to catch any word possible.

If worse came to worse, he had a plan.

"_...consistent misbehavior on your part, Miss Noland. And you, Miss Rothschile, ENCOURAGE it!..._"

"_...tually a misunderstanding. We were..._"

"..._had enough. I've just about had it with the two of you..._"

Ryan lifted his head off the door, glaring daggers at the wood. "We'll _see_ about that." And with a posture check, the dark-haired agent swiftly opened the door and entered the room.

Silence.

"Oh, my apologies...Mr. _Wizchorek,_ I believe?" Ryan asked calmly, not even turning to face either of the two clients in the room. "Forgive me for interrupting, but I have something for you."

The library manager looked up at him immediately, looking infuriated at being interrupted. "And _who_ might you be?" He demanded, leaning forward on his desk. "If you say IRS I'm going to have to ask you to leave right now."

Raven pursed her lips, looking over at Ryan with a surprised but very interested expression.

The other tall man stepped forward with a slight, eased smile. "No, I'm not of the IRS, sir. In fact, I am of the FBI International Assassination Society of the United States of America." He whipped out his badge from his pocket, "I'm here by investigation purposes to see if the security of this place is secure. And I understand you have quite the force here." He nodded in Fira's direction. "Also, I have come to the conclusion that the children here are under the best supervision I have seen in years. Why, just a moment ago I observed that there was a child lost without his parent in this very building. This here...Miss _Rothschile_, I believe," He gestured to Raven, "Took care of it extremely well. I just wanted to say, sir, that I am very impressed with your employees." Ryan stepped forward and shook Mr. Wizchorek's hand. "I shall bring back the report." He nodded and turned away to head out the door. However, on his way out, he briefly winked one dark eye at Raven before replacing his sunglasses and stepping out the door.

The manager blinked, staring with a great deal of surprise at the door...right before looking at Fira, then at Raven, then at Fira, and then clearing his throat and straightening his tie. "Well...em...I guess...you...erm...have done well, girls." He finished at last, nodding to them as if having authoritatively decided this. "And...um...well, the future looks bright for you two, here."

"That's nice..." Raven was still staring at the door, looking like she was in a completely different world.

"...I expect you both to keep up the good work." Bob said firmly, puffing out his chest a bit. "After all, the security of this library is extremely important. As you well know, Miss Noland."

The brunette was still standing in shock. "Uh...yeah...sure..."

"Good then." Bob nodded to them again. "You may go."

Raven left immediately.

Fira shook her head. "GOD..." She straightened herself up, before following Raven out the door just as quickly. She turned the corner once outside the door, pointing a confused finger at the leaving Raven. "WHAT was THAT?!"

"I don't know..." Raven said distractedly, looking around quickly as she walked out into the library. "But whatever it was..." She smiled slightly. "...he really knew what he was doing..."

"_Hey, Fira!_"

A careful and quick voice called over from somewhere near the exit to the library - and when Fira instinctively looked over, sure enough. Devin was there, both of his kids behind him, waving to her eagerly, and looking around as if fearing Ryan would pop out of nowhere.

Fira froze and turned in her step. Seeing Devin, she rolled her eyes and smiled to herself before she jogged over to the small family. "Yeah, what the hell?"

"Hey, uh...yeah...I hope I didn't do anything to get you fired or anything." The firefighter said, making a pained expression at the thought. "You okay?"

"Cool gun 'wady!" D.J. exclaimed, bouncing up and down as he looked at Fira, his big eyes shining. "_Cool!_"

"Yeah, I know. Isn't it?" Fira perked up, smiling in pride as she lifted her 324 Pistol to eye level. She then smiled at Devin, "Yeah, I'm cool." She rolled her eyes and swiped her gun away again. "Thanks to I'm-gonna-be-so-cool-to-show-off-to-Raven guy."

Lin

"Oh, you mean Ryan?" Devin chuckled. "Yeah..he...uh, he's got some cool tricks up his sleeve." He cleared his throat. "So...um...you wouldn't still be interested in that...ice cream now, would you?" He went a slight shade of red, grinning sheepishly.

"Ice cweam! Ice cweam!" D.J. shouted happily, though his excited eyes were still fixed on Fira's awesome pistol.

"Yeah! Daddy, we're SO gettin' ice cream." Little Diva nodded confidently, as if telling Devin that that was a FACT. She crossed her little arms. "Right?"

Fira rolled her eyes at the two little toddlers. "Wow. They always rule your ass around like that?" She shook her chocolate head. "But HELL yeah! Ice cream sounds frickin' sweet!"

Devin's face completely lit up. "Whoa..._seriously?_ Sweet!" He chuckled when the kids both cheered, jumping up and down. "When can you go? Are you off soon?"

"Hell, I get off in a half hour..." She checked her watch. "Thirty-two minutes, to be frickin' exact."

"Cool!" Devin exclaimed, looking quite excited. "We'll just hang around then, and then we'll all go out! Sound good?" He looked hopeful...maybe more than he should have been allowing himself to...

"Yeah, cool!" Fira nodded, and turned away. She looked over her shoulder as she began to walk away. "See ya in thirty!"

"Bet on it!" Devin called after her, waving slightly, and watching her go until she was out of side. "Wow...isn't she great, kids...?"

"Uh-huh." D.J. said, blinking his big eyes. "She got cool guns, Daddy."

"That she does." Devin nodded slowly, smiling to himself.

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	6. Chapter 5

**DEEPER THAN SKIN**

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**CHAPTER 5: Only To Return**

_**Continuing from chapter 4…**_

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"Daddy, awe we going home now?" Donovan asked his father innocently before taking a slurp from his sippie cup. "We go'a go bye-bye?"

Ryan, both his kids under his strong arms, was striding down the hallway with a sinking feeling that would be the very last time he would ever see Miss Raven again...hopefully that had worked.

He seemingly didn't hear little Donovan.

Donovan sipped on his sippie cup again. "Daddy, where we going...?"

"Mr. Roth?"

Ryan stopped, blinked, turned.

"Yes?"

Raven, who had just composed herself after the relief of being able to catch up with the agent, walked forward as calmly as she could toward the (drop dead gorgeous) dark-haired man. "I'm sorry to detain you, but I didn't want you to leave without...well, a thank you." She smiled a bit sheepishly at him, stopping and folding her hands behind her back. "You...just about saved my job in every way."

Ryan set both his kids down, not removing his locked, shaded eyes from hers. He then straightened up, seemingly first-time nervous as he quickly removed his sunglasses once more. He nodded professionally toward his...clears throat...friend. "Well, you're very welcome, Miss Rothschile." Suddenly, his dark eyes began to subtly search her hands for a wedding ring.

Raven, however, didn't notice, and smiled at him. "I've never seen anyone handle Bob like that before. No wonder you're in the field you're in with the government." She chuckled slightly, maybe a little nervously. "I'll bet you never lose an argument."

Ryan chuckled lightly and straightened slightly in pride. "Never once." He smiled, "But I am glad you have your job back. My apologies for it being threatened in the first place."

"Oh, it was hardly your fault." Raven assured him, though her smile was admiring. "It was mostly Fira's. As usual." She seemed to want to keep talking with him - but then seemed to realize something, and backed up pace, raising her hands slightly. "Well, I just wanted to say that. I won't keep you any longer. Will I see you next week?"

Ryan's brow creased in confusion, noticing her backward step. "Oh...you don't have to go..." He cleared his throat, catching what he had said. "...b-but a librarian has her duties, of course." He smiled a bit more unhappily, bowing lightly in farewell. "But may I ask when you are released of these duties, miss?"

"Today? Six o'clock." Raven said, and also caught herself, realizing she sounded a bit too hopeful. She cleared her throat, shrugging. "But that's the norm...and...yes, well..." She started to go red again, and cursed herself inwardly for it. "...until later then, Mr. Roth?"

Ryan straightened up, a corner of his mouth lifting in a 'oh, yeah...' smile. "As it shall seem, Miss Rothschile." He suddenly froze, before creasing his brow lightly in question. "But, may I ask you a personal question, Miss Rothschile?"

Raven blinked. "Um...yes, of course." She said, smiling at Donovan when he gave a little hiccup, and then looked back at Ryan. "Go ahead."

"I just..." Ryan began, shifting his weight, "...would like to ask..." Trying his best to make this as little awkward as possible, he relaxed his shoulders and asked casually, "...w-where _Mr. Rothschile_ works? I might have heard of him before."

"Mr. Rothschile? Oh, no...I'm not married..." Raven blushed slightly, absently brushing a strand of violet hair behind her ear. She chuckled softly. "That's one fairytale I haven't been able to imagine yet."

Donovan hiccuped again, looking up at Ryan, innocently listening for his answer.

Those very words seemed to make Ryan's day complete. "Oh," He commented, as if considering that fact, "Well, in that case, may I inquire as to whom you live with?"

"No one." Raven responded, shrugging slightly. "I have my own apartment. And that's probably a good thing considering all the books I have stacked in there." She laughed lightly. "It's sort of like the next city library in there..."

Donovan hiccuped again.

"Hm." Ryan crossed his arms in true consideration. "Do you..." He scratched the back of his neck, "...have any _supper plans_...by any chance for tonight?"

Raven froze. She swallowed slowly, not having expected that. I mean, that may have been something she would have _dreamed_ about after a while...but...well, let's just say in the end all she could do was clear her throat, and give the handsome man a slightly overwhelmed look. "I...um...no..." She asked, cursing herself for sounding so pathetic. "...I...don't..."

Donovan sipped from his sippie cup again.

Ryan smiled and seemed to completely deflate and relax, as if someone had pulled a million-pound weight off his back. "Well, then." He tried to act as casual as possible, gesturing lightly, "You wouldn't want to accompany us for...dinner, tonight...would you?" He looked as little hopeful as he possibly could--it wasn't working very well.

If it were possible for a light to shine from heaven on someone at that moment, Raven would have seen it clear as day shining on Ryan. Her eyes went huge, and she swallowed hard again, somehow unable to find her voice for a few seconds. "Um...are you...sure...?" She said, cursing herself yet again at her lame response. "I...I mean...it's not any...trouble?"

Donovan began sucking his thumb.

"If it were any trouble, I would have mentioned that, Ms. Rothschile." He chuckled. "So...should I...pick you up after work? Or do you have a vehicle you would prefer to drop off at your obode?"

"Oh, well, I actually walked here today." Raven chuckled - unable to keep from sounding a little overwhelmed with happiness again. She struggled to control herself, trying to talk calmly. "I-I'd be able to leave right after six, if you want to leave then..."

"That sounds perfect." Ryan concluded, smiling and bowing lightly in farewell, before reaching out a hand for hers. "Until then, Miss Raven?"

Raven's heart was beating so hard she could have sworn Ryan could hear it, but she managed to return the smile, reaching out and accepting his hand. "Definitely, Mr. Roth. Until then."

Ryan smiled charmingly as he held Raven's hand delicately, lifting it to his soft lips and kissing it lightly, his eyes only briefly shifting upward to her. His mouth curved pleasingly, he straightened once more, gently letting her hand fall. "Until six."

And with that, Ryan lifted both his darling, captivated children into his arms and began to make his way down the exit hall. Only to return.

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	7. Chapter 6

**DEEPER THAN SKIN**

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**CHAPTER 6: A Date or Not a Date?**

_**Continuing from chapter 5…**_

* * *

Raven stood rooted to the spot, watching him go. She smiled and waved at Donovan and Rain as they were carried away by their father...and when they were gone...she stood for a long time, simply staring at where they had gone.

She didn't know what to do. Her heart was still beating insanely, and her head felt lighter than air. The image of that last glance Ryan had given her was embedded in her mind. She had never felt or experienced anything like that before...ever...

'_God...I'm going crazy..._" She breathed inwardly, finally managing to move herself...but she couldn't keep the blissful smile off of her face as she walked back into the library. '_And...he asked me to dinner...!...wait...no, don't say it that way, Raven. Come on. He asked you to __**accompany**__ him, and...oh, god, that still sounds too good to be true..._"

So preoccupied was she with her thoughts, that she didn't see Fira in her pathway until she had nearly walked right over the brunette - but managed to stop _just_ in time.

"Oh, goodness! I'm sorry, Fira..." She said quickly, blinking sharply as reality suddenly came slamming back at her. "I-I wasn't looking where I was...going..."

"No SHIT, you weren't!" Fira yelled back at her, not that she wasn't just as guilty...and even though she looked just as angry as she always seemed to be, her eyes weren't quite as furious as they usually were...she seemed to have an air about her, causing her to look a bit more on the happy side at the moment. "What the hell's up with your ass?"

"Nothing." Raven answered immediately, though her eyes were sparkling way more than they should have been. She did notice the slight change in Fira, though, and tilted her head slightly. "What's up with _you?_ Did you win the fudge lottery or something?"

"What the hell is THAT supposed to mean?" Fira inquired sharply, crossing her arms and glaring back at Raven. "Don't tell ME I look like that when you're sitting here looking like your hand was smooched by some shit-ass prince."

The glitter in Raven's eyes became a bit more dreamy for a second. "Yeah..." She ran her fingers over the back of her hand thoughtfully for a moment - before suddenly seeming to snap out of it and cleared her throat. "Well, actually, you don't look so miserable yourself." She looked at her suspiciously. "Did that..._Devin_ guy say something...?"

Fira didn't reply right away. The corner of her mouth was lifted in disgust as she stared disbelieving down at her best friend's hand. "..._right..."_ She cleared her throat and looked up at Raven's face. "...and that _'Devin guy_' and I are gonna hang out for a while after work. That's IT."

"Seriously?" Raven looked at her...and a sly smile slowly spread over her face. "I _knew_ it..."

"WHAT?!" Fira immediately shouted, stepping back and gesturing defensively. "WHAT the hell?!"

"He asked you out!" Raven proclaimed, smiling confidently and folding her arms, looking at her friend with a short laugh. "I KNEW he would! I TOLD you he was checking you out!"

"NO!" Fira screeched in defense, throwing her fists down stubbornly at her sides. "It is NOT a DATE. _GOD!"_ Crossing her arms, she gave Raven a knowing look. "And as for YOUR ASS," She jabbed a finger at Raven's chest accusingly, "YOU had your frickin' HAND SMOOCHED! And knowing you," She laughed lightly in sarcasm, turning away briefly, "he...he probably asked you to DINNER or something shitty like that..."

Raven looked at her, blinked...and then turned away, trying to conceal a smile by biting her lip as she started back toward the bookshelves. "I...have to get back to work..."

Fira's laid-back, casual smile plastered lifelessly on her face, her teeth clenched. "..._Raven..."_ She said through a closed smile as she chuckled nervously, "...y-your _supposed_ to DISAGREE WITH ME!!" She now turned to face her, her smile seemingly stuck in place as she begged, "Come _ooonnn..."_

"I've got to organize the encyclopedias. Don't forget to punch out when you're off today." Raven called back innocently, obviously avoiding the subject. "See you later."

"AH!" Fira screamed, covering her head defensively, "I did NOT just HEAR that!!" She peeked out from under her raised arms, "RAVEN!! HE DID DIDN'T HE!? Oh my _GOD!!_"

Raven whirled around, putting a finger to her lips rapidly. "Fira, SHUSH!!" She said, racing up to the other girl and clamping a hand over her mouth. "_We're in a __**library!!**_"

Fira frowned and swiped Raven's hand away from her face. "Pfft. _Ch'yeah..._" She crossed her arms stubbornly, "...like that Ryan dude's gonna be in your _ass..._?"

_SLAP!_

Raven swatted Fira across the face. "Don't you _ever_ say that again." She growled furiously at her. "Ryan is NOT like that. Besides...it's not like it's a...date or anything..."

Fira's mouth seemed stuck open wide in shock of the hit as she stared, eyes wide, at Raven. She folded her arms and sat back. "Could'a GODDAMN fooled me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raven demanded, frowning at her as she picked up some stray books from a table near some reading chairs. "Just because we're...grabbing something to eat doesn't mean it's a _date_."

"ME EITHER THAN, BITCH!!" Fira screamed back, pounding her chest briefly in emphasis of her point. "So THERE."

"Fine, fine." Raven allowed a knowing smile to grace her face as she calmly stepped away. "Whatever you say. Even if, by true standards, _anyone_ that gives you chocolate technically falls on your _good side_ list...and in your terms, _good side_ is the same as _intense love interest._" She chuckled. "You said so yourself."

"Hey, hey..." Fira turned around and began to walk the other way. She lifted a hand as she walked, "...watch how you phrase that shit..."

Raven laughed lightly. "_Okay._" She said, almost to herself more than anything as she walked into the maze of bookshelves again...

...but there was _no way_ her mind was on the books in her arms.

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	8. Chapter 7

**DEEPER THAN SKIN**

* * *

**CHAPTER 7: Some Kind of Cinderella**

_**Continuing from chapter 6…**_

* * *

"This is freakin' AWESOME!!" Devin shouted, a huge smile on his face as he finished buckling D.J. into his carseat, and whirled around to look at Ryan, pumping his fist. "She TOTALLY said yes!! And she's off, like, seriously soon and...God, it's gonna be SO awesome!!"

Ryan's arms were firmly crossed as one dark eyebrow lifted on his brow. "I see you're very enthusiastic about this." He frowned and glanced backwards toward his car, where both his own offspring were sitting, all buckled in already, in their appropriate spots in the backseat. He could have sworn he heard a gunshot. His forehead still scrunched in a frown, he turned back around to Devin, before his face coming to an interested and somehow _doubtful_ expression. "And _where_ exactly are you going to take this woman again?"

"To get _ice cream!_" Devin said, making it sound like he had won a marathon. "It's going to be SO cool. She's a chocolate fiend. You should've seen her. She was HILARIOUS when I talked about it. And she's just so cool and confident...it's gonna be a blast!"

"I see." Ryan replied, his eyebrow still raised. "I still do not fully understand your interest in that radical female..." He shook his dark head, released his arms from their captivated fold, and leaned a the palm of his hand against the brim of the car's hood. "...but who knows..." He gestured wondrously, "...maybe she'll turn out to be some kind of _CINDERELLA._.."

"Oh, shut up." Devin chuckled, leaning against his car. "She's _great._ And talk about energy!" He shook his head. She was so different from Sylva it wasn't even funny... "We're gonna have so much fun. And I am SO in the mood for ice cream!"

"Well, yes, you have _fun_ with her, young Devin." Ryan turned to walk back to his car. He opened the front door before freezing. He turned back to the other black-haired boy with a knowing smile. "Oh, and take her back home tonight." With a chuckle and one more wave to Devin's adorable children, he slipped into the driver's seat. His door slammed shut, his car started up, and he rolled down the window. "If all goes well, Devin, you let me know."

And with that, the other father pressed the gas and drove down the street and out of sight.

Devin stared after him, disbelief on his face. "_Asshole._" He stated, before shaking his head and turning to duck into his own car. "What an _asshole..._"

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	9. Chapter 8

**DEEPER THAN SKIN**

* * *

**CHAPTER 8: Pasts**

_**Continuing from chapter 7…**_

* * *

"HA!" Fira nodded confidently, laughing in victory. "You have fun in frickin' JAIL, PAL!!" She shouted loudly after the two cop cars that took off slowly but surely off and down the dark gray road. She turned around and gave her fist a good, hard pump before jogging back into the library building. "_I'd like to see YOU mess with MY ass again...steal a old fart's purse...my ass..."_

The gun-wielding brunette clicked her pistols back into their place in their own holsters on her leather belt. She turned her head back upward from placing them, flicking her chocolate bangs out of her eyes. "HA!" She clapped loudly, "And now I'm done!! What a frickin' _awesome_ way to end the day!!"

Laughing as if she was now on top of the world, she ran up the stairs to the EMPLOYEES ONLY room and entered grandly. "And now, for my favorite part of the day!" She dramatically whipped a dart out of a back pocket on her belt. She smiled with a flicker of her mischievous eyebrows as she looked down at her possession as if it were a thousand pounds of gold. Placing it just right in her palm and fingering it like a pencil, Fira lifted the weapon to eye-level and aimed it at the opposite wall.

With another evil smile and a cackle, the young agent tossed the dart across the room at lightning speed until it PIT! It hit the poster of Bob on the wall...meeting many of its kind also pinned in the wall...

"Take THAT, bastard!!" Fira hooted, thrusting her gloved fist in the air as a victor is triumphant after beating an opponent. She hummed to herself a song that was quite pervasive in language as she worked to finish up for the day. She unclipped the gun holsters off her belt and chucked it into the safe labeled "NOLAND"; along with several other of her work-only items on her at the moment.

She reached into the safe and pulled out her handy-dandy after-work outfit. She shut the office door and locked it tight. Within minutes she was completely transformed from an agent to a regular young woman...well...sort of normal. She wore a regular, gray long-sleeved shirt - with the sleeves either ripped or cut (it was hard to tell) to mid-arm length. It was loose and comfortable, just as her pants. She wore ghetto-like, over-sized camouflage cargo jeans that shredded at the very bottom hem.

And with a quick tighten of her ponytail and a chocolate bar stuffed in her mouth, Fira locked up and wrapped up anything else she needed to do before leaving the building.

She jogged through the halls, down the stairs but stopped at the children's section. "Yo, RAVEN!! I'm off work!! SEE YA IN HELL TOMORROW!!"

Laughing and shaking her head, Fira didn't wait for the response from her best friend. She walked the rest of the way out of the building, chewing contently on her now half chocolate bar. Continuing to hum the previous song from before, she walked casually out of the building.

But as Fira exited - it took her only approximately fifteen steps before a car pulled up beside her next to the sidewalk...with a very familiar driver sitting in the driver's seat.

Devin glanced up at her, tilting up his sunglasses as he smiled. "Hey there, agent." He said teasingly. "Lookin' spiffy. Ready to go get some ice cream?"

"Ready as hell." Fira replied with a chuckle as she reached forward and snatched the black handle and lifted it up. The door clicked open and she slid into the passenger seat casually, tossing her few belongings down next to her boots. She leaned out and grabbed the door, only to then slam it shut. "And we're OFF!!" She pointed dramatically at the windshield in front of her.

Devin laughed and stepped on the gas, driving the car off into the street and heading _straight_ for their destination...one of the favorite ice cream places of the people in the city - and where he couldn't WAIT to spend some time with his newest acquaintance.

They soon arrived at the shop, and both raced each other inside and came at a dead tie to the front counter - where Devin slapped his hands down in front of the guy at the register, eyeing the menu victoriously.

"I want, two number threes, four number sixes, and three number sevens." He rattled off quickly, glancing back at Fira afterward. "Did I miss anything...?"

"HELL you did!" Fira glared savagely at him, shoving him out of her way playfully, "Now EXCUSE me..." She studied to the menu as if it was the only food she would ever have again. "I want THREE number ones and FOUR number nines." She grinned. "Plus his order." She turned and glared at Devin playfully again. "You CAN'T MISS THOSE!!"

"Okay. You win." Devin grinned, nodding to the very confused cashier. "Okay. Jab it in."

"Uh...yeah...coming right up..." The guy said, eyeing them as he typed in the order. "That'll be 35.49..."

"Got it." Devin put two twenty dollar bills on the counter.

The guy nodded, picking up the money and counting out the change. "That'll be up for you guys in a second..."

Fira laughed, "More like one HOUR!" She smiled and turned to Devin with a shrug. "Bastards can't work to save their non-existent lives."

"All the more reason for us to go find a spot." Devin said, motioning toward the eating area of the shop. "Pick anywhere!"

Fira looked around casually, before gesturing to a booth by the window. "I wanna window seat so I can toss the waiter out the window later." She began to walk toward it. "Whatta you think?"

Devin laughed, following her easily. "Sounds great, Fi." He said, letting the nickname slip out without even meaning it. "Even if we might get sued for it."

"Personally, I don't give a shit." The other brunette flopped down casually down on the comfy booth seats. "Now THIS is service, D." She patted the seats around her. "Uncomfortable seating..." She wiped a finger across the table, "...dirty tables..." She looked up at the ceiling, "...and so many goddamn spiders that they could decide to take over the human race in seconds."

Devin snorted, sitting down beside her and leaning back casually. "Yeah, well, at least they'd meet their match in about one second, huh?" He looked over at her, winking slightly. "Or less?"

"Ch'yeah." Fira laughed lightly, completely and utterly charmed - even as impossible as that might seem. She leaned forward on the table, turning on her elbow to look at the other boy. "So...what the hell do _you_ do for a living?"

"Firefighter." Devin responded easily, grinning and leaning an elbow on the edge of the booth seat. "Burning buildings, screaming people, dalmations, all that jazz."

Fira's eyes widened, her face seemingly slightly terrified. "Really...?"

Devin nodded, clearly not noticing. "Yeah, I uh...got into a while back and I really enjoy it." He smiled over at her. "And you like what you do, I'm guessing...?"

"Uh, yeah..." She cleared her throat, leaning back again, seeming a little uneasy. She turned to him in concerned curiosity. "Isn't bein' a frickin' firefighter kinda...freaky as hell?"

"Nah. I like it." Devin grinned, feeling proud of his job. "It's really exciting, and you gotta love a little danger." He smiled. "'Specially when you get to save people. It's totally worth it."

"I s'pose..." Fira shrugged. Sometimes she forgot that no everyone was so scared of firey flames... "Well, anyway!" She whipped her dark-chocolate bangs out of her eyes, "But who doesn't enjoy helping the shit-asses of the world, eh?"

"Some people. That's why they become street urchans." Devin grinned, stretching lazily. "Speaking of streets, where'd you grow up? You a Jump City'ite through and through?"

"Pfft. Hell no." Fira shook her head, finally beginning to relax, and shoved the other boy in disbelief. "Do I _look_ like someone who grew up only in this goddamn shit-hole of a place?" She laughed. "Hell, no. I grew up in the back streets of Diagon City, D."

Devin's eyes went wide. "Seriously?" He said, blinking. "That's where I was born. My parents moved out after a year, though, 'cause the place was so bad." He shook his head. "Wow... that's...how'd you make it?!"

The other brunette smiled proudly, "I just did." She chuckled and folded her arms, "My parents wanted to move to some other place in hell, but we only got to the outskirts of the goddamn city before we were ambushed by a whole slew of shit-ass murdering bastards. Someone apparently _really_ hated my old man. Shot both my parents." She shrugged. "So I just grabbed my dad's pistols and took 'em all out." After a second of a very proud smile, she flopped back on the seats again, "Yeah, but it took a half hour for me to kill 'em all...I was shot twice...survived...and then took off to take care of myself in the city. That's my freaking story."

Devin stared, his eyes huge on his face. "Whoa...seriously...?" He scratched the back of his neck. "That's some tough shit. An' I thought _my_ kidhood was bad." He gave a mirthless chuckle. "But...you okay now? I mean, no lasting traumatic effects or anything, right..?"

Fira shook her head with a laugh, "Hell no. I was no older than shit when it happened; don't remember either parent. However, my dad was goddamn frickin' awesome, and my mom was a downright goddamn bitch." Several strands of her mud-brown hair slid off her shoulders as she shrugged, "Neither way, I don't give a shit about it any more. I'm alive and in Jump frickin' City." She blew her bangs out of her face again, "What 'bout your ass' story?"

"Oh, it's uh...it doesn't matter." Devin gave her a hesitant smile, neither noticing when their ice cream was actually delivered to the table at the moment. "Just...kinda' started out rough and ended up even rougher. That's about the story of my life there."

"Know how ya feel." Fira shrugged. "But you can share hell with me. God knows I've probably been through somethin' similar." She, also, had not noticed the luscious banquet of delicious frozen treats on their table currently.

Devin chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck again. "...yeah...well...I s'pose it couldn't hurt..."

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	10. Chapter 9

**DEEPER THAN SKIN**

* * *

**CHAPTER 9: Daddy's Girl**

_**Continuing from chapter 8…**_

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"Daddy gotta girl." D.J. said simply, picking up the next toy truck on the floor of the Logans' apartment, shaking it in his small hands and rolling it on the ground by Ivy's feet. "Daddy go'a go get ice cweam wif his girl..."

"Oh?" The red-haired young lady chuckled and smiled affectionately at the little boy in front of her. However, thinking about it a little bit, she looked down D.J. with a small smile and a cock of her head, "Is that so, D.J.?" She leaned down and patted the young boy's black head gently, "You know your father is married, right, D.J., sweetie?"

"Uh-huh. But Sylv-a not his girl." D.J. reported, pushing the little truck on the floor again. "She's da lady. Fiwa cool..."

"Hm..." Ivy seemed slightly confused as she straightened up again. Staring at a wood-framed picture of a vase of beautiful multi-colored flowers, she thought hard about the young lad's words. "..._Fira...?_ Interesting. Logan! Logan, are you in your room, honey?!"

"_Sure am!"_ A voice from the yonder room of the apartment responded, sounds of telltale shuffling accompanying the words. "_Have the kids burned the kitchen down already?!_"

Ivy laughed. "No, Logan! I was just wondering if you knew anything about what little D.J. is talking about! Devin told me that he had an ice cream appointment...do you know anything else? D.J. is saying something else, though..."

"Fiwa. Fiwa, Fiwa, Fiwa..." The little boy rambled off, still playing with his truck.

"_Well, BEATS ME, but I'd say Devin's really off doin' drugs or somethin'. You know how that guy is._"

"Oh, Logan, dear..." Ivy laughed and shook her head. "...I think you and I both know Devin is a little smarter than that. Also, do you know what D.J. is saying about this...'Fira'?"

"Fira?" Logan popped his head out of the bedroom, a towel around his neck as he had obviously come out from the adjoining bathroom seconds ago, and walked into the living room, towelling off his hair. "Who the heck is Fira?"

"A _girl,_ Logan."

"Yeah, I'd hope as HECK a person with that name would be a girl." Logan raised an eyebrow at her, sitting down on the couch and peering over at what Diva was reading before looking at Ivy again. "But what does she have to do with Devin...?"

"Well..." She shrugged and crossed her arms gently, "...ask D.J.."

Logan shrugged his bare shoulders. "'Kay." He said, resting his elbows on his knees and leaning down until he was more at D.J.'s level. "Hey, little dude. Who's Fira?"

"Daddy's girl." D.J. responded dutifully, zooming his truck across the carpet. "She got guns."

Logan looked up at Ivy. "Guns...?"

"Oh, dear..." Ivy looked a bit more concerned now, "...what do you suppose that means?"

"Not sure." Logan frowned, and finally got down from the couch, sitting down by D.J. and looking at him. "You sayin' your Dad went for a little one-on-one time with a _gun girl?_"

"Uh-huh." The little boy answered innocently, picking up the truck and biting on it experimentally. "Daddy's girl."

"Oh, dear." Ivy shook her head. "Logan, I do believe our dear friend Devin is..._experimenting..."_

"Well, WHO could blame the guy?!" Logan said, giving his wife a serious look before standing up and walking over to go adjust the thermostat of the house. "S'not like Sylva's some frickin' _angel_. The creep's barely _human!_"

"Oh, well, I never said he was wrong in doing so." Ivy defended herself, walking up behind her husband and wrapping two affectionate arms around his bare waist. She laid her head on his slightly chilly back and smiled with a sigh. "Everyone needs someone who loves them...and someone to love..."

Logan smiled. "Yeah..." He said, turning around and wrapping his arms around the redhead as well, and bent to kiss her. "Someone _awesome..._"

"Ewww!" D.J. wailed, covering his tiny eyes. "NO kissies! Ewie!"

Ivy laughed lightly, however not turning around. She smiled and closed her eyes gently and she leaned up and very lovingly encased her beloved husband's lips with her own.

And despite D.J.'s protests, that kiss would have continued for a long time - if the phone hadn't rung in the next second.

Logan grimaced. "Dang it." He said, giving Ivy an apologetic look as he reached angrily toward the phone, pulling it off its reciever. "That ALWAYS happens." He pressed the 'talk' button. "'Lo?"

"_Garfield. This is Jade._"

Logan's eyes widened. "Uh...Jade...?"

"_Yes. WHERE is my husband?_"

"I dunno...he's prob'ly heading home..." Logan frowned, checking his watch. "He just got off work a little while ago, didn't he? Give the man a break!"

_Click._ The phone hung up.

The green man slowly pulled the reciever away from his head, and hung it back up, looking at Ivy with wide eyes. "Whoa. Cranky, maybe...?"

"What? What did she say, Logan?" Ivy stepped forward, now looking very concerned. She glanced down at D.J. for a second, for she had briefly heard his little truck crash into a wall, before turning her deep green eyes back up to Logan's. "What is going on?"

"Yeah...uh...apparently Ryan's not home yet and she's freakin' out." The green man reported, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at his wife. "Weird. She's like the biggest control freak EVER. She'd have a heart attack if he missed a STOP LIGHT on the way home."

"Oh, yes..." Ivy's deep red hair swung loosely on her shoulders with a shake of her down-turned head, "...I do hope things work out for him as well." Her eyes lifted to meet Logan's again, "But, one thing. Devin and Ryan always seem to have similar things going on at the same time. I mean, do you remember when Ryan had a bullet just barely miss his head? Then ten minutes later Devin just barely jumped out of a fiery building's window in time when it all fell down? I don't know...maybe Devin isn't the only one with a...girl, maybe?"

"Seriously?" Logan raised an eyebrow, giving her an incredelous look. "RYAN?! No way. Ladies go for him. HE doesn't go for ladies. 'Sides, no girl would ever be good enough for him. JADE sure isn't."

The other girl sighed. "Yes, I suppose." She turned around and lifted little Diva off the floor and into her arms, where the young girl stayed glued to her violent comic book. "And where would he find one anyway?"

"Well, RYAN could find one on the MOON. But the question IS, would he CHOOSE to?" Logan said, tapping his skull in a signal for wisdom as he started toward the kitchen. "I'm gonna get supper going. Pizza okay?"

His wife laughed lightly, "Yes, pizza is just fine, Logan." She sat down with the two children on the floor. "Thank you, honey!"

"No prob." Logan responded, immediately starting to make the food.

D.J. looked up at Ivy curiously. "When Dada comin' home?"

"Oh, I don't really know, sweetie." Ivy answered kindly to the young boy, reaching over and patting his small chocolate head. "He said pretty late. He'll be home after you're asleep, I'm sure."

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